First Look: Matt Bomer Gets Animated for Superman: Unbound

Monday

Jan 7, 2013 at 11:55 AM

TV Guide

Matt Bomer is going up, up and away - into the world of animation. The mild-mannered White Collar star has landed the lead in the upcoming movie Superman: Unbound. Coming this spring to DVD, Blu-ray and On Demand, the film features an all-star cast, including Fringe's John Noble as the world-destroying alien Brainiac and Castle costars Stana Katic and Molly Quinn as Superman's girlfriend, Lois Lane, and cousin, Kara (aka Supergirl), respectively.

Based on a 2008 Action Comics storyline by Geoff Johns, Superman: Unbound - the latest in a series of movie adaptations from Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment - pits the Man of Steel against Brainiac, an alien who attacks planets, shrinks one city small enough to fit in a bottle, then destroys the rest of the planet. "He's the ultimate collector," says director/supervising producer James Tucker (Batman: The Brave and the Bold). "He says what he's doing is the name of science and ultimate knowledge, but really he just wants stuff and he doesn't want anyone else to have access to it."

In the film's second story thread Superman struggles to relate to the women in his life. As his romance with Lois heats up (in his secret identity as Clark Kent), he worries that she could be in jeopardy if his enemies discover their connection. And his paternal instincts drive him to be overprotective of the teenage Kara - despite the fact that she has super abilities on par with his.

Bomer took on this new identity with ease. "He had a jovial energy that was a little counter to what we usually do with Superman," Tucker says. "But he also had that decency in his voice that Superman really needs no matter which way you go with him."

Noble was also perfectly suited for his role. "I could listen to him all day," Tucker says. "John had a lot of energy and he really got into the psychology of what was motivating Brainiac. He brought a level of intelligence, but also that slight bit of crazy that a super villain needs to have under the surface to make him compelling."

In addition to the dazzling voice cast, Tucker (who also did the character design) is quite pleased with the movie's score, from composer Kevin Kliesch. "I wanted it to sound like a contemporary movie," Tucker says of his directive to Kliesch, whose credits include the recent ThunderCats relaunch and the upcoming Disney Channel series Sofia the First. "There's a lot of guitars and percussion, a lot of driving music, it's not orchestral at all. The music's not like any movie Superman movie you've seen."

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